The only other documents hinting at the existence of the Abydos Dynasty and their possible burial at Abydos are three stelae of “exceptionally crude quality”, according to Ryholt, and an ivory wand discovered at Abydos in the 1889-1902 season by British archaeologists M.A. The papyrus was damaged in antiquity, and the difficulty in assimilating the fragmentary names of these rulers into traditional models of political structure in the Second Intermediate Period meant these kings remained in obscurity, overlooked by scholars. 1303-1213 BC), Ryholt suggested that 16 kings contemporary with the 16th Dynasty could be identified as belonging to the otherwise unattested Abydos Dynasty. via Wikimedia Commonsīased on an analysis of the Turin King List, a papyrus document dating to the reign of Ramesses II (c. Rather, one may expect that the dignitaries at Abydos would have reacted in a manner similar to those at Thebes and immediately have proclaimed their own king to rival the 15th Dynasty.Ī transcription of the Turin King List. In his 1997 book on the political situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, Kim Ryholt first suggested the existence of an Abydos Dynasty, one that occupied the central area between the divided regions of Upper Egypt (with its Theban powerbase) and Lower Egypt:Īt the moment when the 15th Dynasty conquered Memphis and brought an end to the Thirteenth Dynasty, a power vacuum was created in Middle and Upper Egypt in which a native dynasty immediately arose in Thebes (the 16th Dynasty) to rival the foreign ruler in the north … it is difficult to imagine that Abydos, one of the largest and most prominent cities in Egypt, should have idly waited for the foreign ruler to take it into possession. It would not have been recognised in the ancient world.
It’s worth noting here that term “dynasty” is a modern artificial academic concept – a means of grouping Egyptian rulers chronologically.